Some other thoughts on our strategy moving forward.
Turn 1 - 2nd Season of 298 AC
It sounds like each turn will take three months, although ASOIAF awkwardly lacks our same calendar time-keeping. Something important to keep in mind.
Hah, nothing like some AP hell to concentrate the mind. I wonder if we'll unlock more actions by securing Cersei's hold on power? It'd give us a mechanical incentive to engage in seemingly self-defeating actions like plugging the ranks full of corrupt loyalists and toadies, making us balance installing subordinates who are loyal to Cersei and ones who are good at their jobs but answer to others.
You can pick either from the options below or use write-in actions, but those should be cleared with the QM first.
Glad to hear we've got a lot of flexibility to work with. After some adjustment, I really enjoy the strategic situation we're sitting in, and it'll require some big thonks to see King Joffrey through usurping uncles and Targaryen pretenders.
Note that NPCs (such as people on the Small Council) will take their own actions.
As we just learned. In this update alone, we had Baelish installing Slynt on the Small Council, Joffrey making Clegane Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, and God only knows what Varys is up to. Ideally, once we've installed some people who can find their asses in broad daylight and/or aren't flagrantly treasonous, NPC actions will start helping with the AP hell instead of giving us ulcers.
In addition, you can send an arbitrary number of messages to people at court, in Westeros or abroad. Write in the content of these messenges and the recipient. Unless otherwise specified, they will be delivered by raven.
I suspect learning the strengths and limits of this ability will take some time. Still, it's good to know what is essentially the conduction of diplomacy doesn't require dedicated actions.
This is what I think Cersei is best at and what I intend to spend most of her time doing. I don't see her being able to meaningfully implement tax reform or command armies, but she's charming and a veteran of court politics, especially when she's not down children and in an alcoholic spiral. Courting the Crownlander nobles is a good example of something that makes the best use of her talents, I think.
[] Speak with Joffrey. Prepare him for what is to come and make sure he listens to your advice.
I spent a fair amount of time chewing over whether or not to do this. Ultimately, while leaving Joffrey unsupervised requires some gut-clenching - and believe me, I'm worried about what he'll do now that we're in the first proper turn - right now we have two actions available. Dedicating one to making sure the king doesn't do something bad is, in my opinion, far more crippling than whatever the consequences of his actual decisions. This might change in the future, and we
should work on making him a better ruler, but right now time's just too important to waste on micromanaging the royal brat.
And, to be honest, making Clegane the Lord Commander was extremely based. Maybe we oughta see what the King does when given some rope to work with?
[] Speak with Varys. Try to ascertain his loyalties and learn more about the wildfyre he found.
[] Speak with Baelish. Try to see how trustworthy he is and see if he can be aligned with your goals.
Varys and Baelish, our two worst enemies and best friends. If it weren't for them, the game would've been over at the start. But the only reason they're supporting us is because they think we're the weakest, most inept candidate in the civil war, and by supporting us they're dragging out the conflict and ensuring another one down the line. It's not a
flattering realization, but it's still something we ought to use while it lasts.
I decided Baelish made the most sense as someone to talk with. Varys, frankly speaking, scares me. His actual motives are an enigma even
canonically, let alone in the quest, and his mute slave children are just disturbing. I don't know any other way of dealing with him than killing him, and it's way too early for a move like that.
Littlefinger, on the other hand, is eminently human in his motivations and means, as despicable as they are. More relevantly, he has a few key assets that make him a useful ally and a painful enemy - namely, his influence over Lysa Arryn, his control over the Goldcloaks, and his economic chicanery as Master of Coin. Cutting a deal with him means we can count on the Vale as an ally and trust that the city guard won't decide to turn cloaks like they did to Ned, but we certainly shouldn't mistake this for anything long-term. Sooner or later the financial catastrophe he's made of the Realm's credit will need to be answered, let alone shit like egging on Joffrey's worst impulses.
[] Speak with Janos Slynt. While Baelish elevating him to the council was not your idea, you can certainly twist him to your advantage.
Trying to subvert Slynt might be worth consideration, but I don't think we could beat Baelish at his own game here. Better to simply have the lout replaced by someone competent once we're ready to clean house.
[] Speak with the Pyromancers. Learn more about the wildfyre found in the sept and see if they can aid you in the battles to come.
This'll both help with figuring out Aerys' final surprise and start preparing Tyrion's Blackwater trick. I'll admit I'm not a huge fan of gimmicks like that, but it's worth consideration if Stannis manages to become more of a threat.
Administration
[] Dig into Littlefingers books. The crown is in debt and you need to know how bad it really is.
[] Organise a shipbuilding effort. You will need a fleet to defend yourself against Stannis.
[] Speak with local traders to organise better food supplies for the city.
Urg. All of this is both really, really necessary, but not something Cersei seems particularly good at handling? Her canonical shipbuilding effort was, uh, a total disaster. Still, it'll need handling - especially since we can't trust Baelish to sort it out himself. I don't think the Queen would appreciate it, but we might benefit from Tyrion returning to help out around the city (ideally without being named Hand by Tywin beforehand, another bonus of the Tully gambit).
Strategy
[] Expand the Gold Cloaks. You will need far more than a mere thousand soldiers.
This sure is uncomfortably bare. And expanding King's Landing's beloved paramilitary is a no-go until we can trust its leadership.
While more options will undoubtedly open up soon, in the immediate term our best ways of getting more troops is simply to bring more allies online, whether they be in the Crownlands, Riverlands, or Vale.
Intrigue
[] Gather information on Littlefinger and his shady dealings.
[] Gather information on the wildfyre yourself. Varys is likely hiding something.
This is all tempting. More than that, it's necessary. Right now, Cersei IC knows those two are shady, but it's so much worse than even her most cynical take could imagine.
We just don't have the time for actions that don't immediately contribute to stabilizing Joffrey's regime, alas. Working on figuring out just what they're up to will have to wait until we're not dealing with armies knocking on the gates and a hostile fleet blockading the bay.
Learning
[] Dig into the histories of these Targaryen pretenders. Maybe something can be found that can be exploited.
I imagine this would help in figuring out which ones are complete frauds and which ones have some legitimacy. Still, very much a 'later' problem.
[] Rest. Sleep. Spend time with Jaime.
Managing Cersei's mental health will be a blast, no doubt. For now, it'll have to wait, but keeping her on the right side of hinged - and taking it easy on the Golden Arbor - should be worth consideration.
